Whiffletree.



PATENTED MAR. 12, 1907.

W. T. YOUG. WHIFFLETREE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17, 190B- 7 v 0 0 ww 6 GQ z l 0 4.0. 9 O O/ @TM 0 ,G Q 4, O 4 0 0 L3- l l lfrl |f1el l.. n# ||||l3 0 O Q 0 II. Y 0\ x.; A/ 0 9 I@ MMO. 7 6|/ ma o 5/ nJl 6, Q.. 4 nu Q vn, 11 n 7 5 w n Km m mw. l

THE :vowels FLrERs sa., wAsmNcrorv, n. c4

WILLIAM T.l YOUNG, OF GRANDRAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

WHIFFLETREE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 12, 1907.

Application tiled February 17. 1906. Serial NoV 301,611.

.To LM whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM T. YOUNG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Whifiietrees; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in whiiiietrees, and more particularly to doubletrees; and its object is to provide a structure that can be made of sheet metal, to provide a strong and durable device, and to provide the same with various new and useful features, hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in-

which- I* igure l is a plan view of a device embody ing my invention Fig. 2, the same with the upper side removed to show the construc-I tion, and Fig. 3 a transverse section on the line 3 3 of Figs. l and 2.

Like numbers refer to like parts in all of the figures.

1 represents the main body of the device, which consists of a beam or lever formed of sheet metal, having a semicylindrical forward side and parallel upper and lower sides, being open at the rear and U-shaped in crossn section. This beam is reinforced at the middle by a plate 2, bent in U shape in crosssec tion and riveted to the beam and preferably placed on the outside thereof. The ends are closed by U-shaped closures embracing the ends of the beam and secured to the respective upper and lower sides of the body.

4 is a clevis-iron projecting rearward at the middle of the beam and secured between its respective upper and lower sides by means of rivets, by which iron the device may be attached as occasion requires.

8 is an opening at the center of the device through which a hammer-bolt may extend to attach the device to the tongue of a vehicle.

5 are U-shaped loops projecting rearward at the middle, located midway between the center and ends of the device and secured to the upper and lower sides of the same by rivets, to which loops may be attached the stay chains or straps, as occasion requires,

and which also serve to brace the sides and hold the same parallel.

6 are chains provided with hooks 7, to which the traces of the harness may be atf tached. These chains extend through openings in the front or convex side of the beam and engage pulleys 10, two of which are journaled near the middle and the other two near the ends of the beam and within the same. The chains at the respective sides of the middle engage these pulleys and extend toward each other within the beam and are preferably connected by rods 9. The chains obviously may be made continuous, if preferred. In operation these chains move freely around these pulleys, and thus equalize the strain upon the traces attached thereto. I am thus able to make the device wholly of metal, using a sheet of moderate thickness for the beam and reinforcing the same, as shown, whereby the structure is very strong and durable and to dispense entirely with the short swingletrees for each pair of traces.

What I claim isl. A doubletree, comprising a beam of sheet metal bent in U shape in cross-section, a reinforcing-plate also bent in U shape in cross-section and secured to the middle of the beam, U-shaped end closures embracing the ends of the beam and secured thereto, and rearwardly-projecting U-shaped loops secured to the respective sides of the beam between its ends and middle.

2. A doubletree comprising a beam of sheet metal bent U shape in cross-section, a reinforcing-plate also bent U shape in crosssection, embracing the middle of the beam and secured thereto, a clevis-iron secured between the sides of the beam and opposite the reinforcing-plate, Ushaped end closures embracing the ends of the beam andsecured thereto, U-shaped loops projecting rearward and attached to the respective sides of the beam between the ends and middle thereof, pulleysjournaled within the beam, and chains engaging the pulleys and extending through openings in the front side of the beam.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM T. YOUNG. Witnesses:

LUTHER V. MoULToN, GEOEGIANA CHACE.

IOO 

